The present invention relates to a selection device, and more particularly to a selection device comprising a selection tape for controlling the selectors of a knitting machine which determines the position of the jacks mounted in the cylinder of the knitting machine for co-acting with selected needles required for the knitting process to provide a predetermined knitting pattern.
Though the selection device of the present invention may be used with any type of knitting machine, the present selection device was specifically invented for a circular knitting machine such as, Model KIM from Masriera S.A., Malgrat De Mar (Barcelona), Spain, a description of which was printed in KNITTING TIMES -- May 27, 1974. The KIM Machine, which was a rotating dial and cylinder and stationery cambox and yarn stand, is presently in 10 and 12 inch diameters with four feeds, preferably having 280 needles. A pattern drum for controlling the needle selection is disposed at each feed on the machine. The pattern drum contains 24 slots around its circumference. The drum can either take 24 clavettes in each of the slots or individually placed pegs, also 24 high. The clavettes or pegs co-act with 24 selectors at each feed, which in turn select the jacks mounted in the cylinder of the knitting machine which position associated needles required for the knitting process to provide a predetermined knitting pattern.
However, the predetermined knitting pattern of the KIM Knitting Machine is limited in size, both in length and width. Since the pattern drum contains 24 steps, the pattern area is either 24 or 49 wales wide depending on whether the 24 step needle jacks working in conjunction with the drum are set out in a diagonal or V-formation. The depth of the design is 96 courses with the 24 slot drum. Therefore, if a larger predetermined knitting pattern is desired, the pattern drum must be made larger to contain more slots around its circumference, and its vertical length must be increased to provide a greater number of steps for each slot, whereby increasing the size if the pattern drum requires that the size of the knitting machine itself be greatly increased to accomodate same.
Many attempts have been made to increase the predetermined knitting pattern without substantially increasing the size of the knitting machine so that each of the needle jacks can be individually activated by a computer. However, these computerized knitting machines are very expensive and complicated, where the predetermined knitting pattern requires many man-hours for its determination, and mistakes therein cannot easily be located and/or corrected.